China builds new quarantine centre as virus cases rise in Hebei

Construction staff working at the construction site of the centralized medical observation centre, a makeshift facility to isolate people at risk of contracting the Covid-19 coronavirus in Shijiazhuang, in northern China's Hebei province on Friday (Jan 15, 2021). - AFP

BEIJING, Jan 15 (AP): A city in northern China is building a 3,000-unit quarantine facility to deal with an anticipated overflow of patients as Covid-19 cases rise ahead of the Lunar New Year travel rush.

State media on Friday showed crews leveling earth, pouring concrete and assembling pre-fabricated rooms in farmland outside Shijiazhuang, the provincial capital of Hebei province that has seen the bulk of new cases.